Birmingham Home Inspectors Blog

Five Gifts for the New Homeowner this Holiday Season

November 30th, 2017 3:12 PM

Five Gifts For The New Homeowner This Holiday Season

One of the many great things about being a Home Inspector in Birmingham, Al is the ability to test out so many of the years great new gadgets that pop up. We get to see the new stuff in the houses and then put it through the ropes. The following are some of the cool things that we have started seeing that would make great gifts!

1. WIFI Thermostat

We cannot say enough great things about WIFI thermostats. I can hardly remember what life was like before mine. The idea behind this feature is that your thermostat connects to the internet and then, using an app on your phone, you can control the temperature of your house from anywhere you have service. It is a great feeling to be driving home from Christmas tree shopping and be able to turn the heat on before we get there.

2. Ring Doorbell

This one is more modern than the WIFI thermostat. The Ring Doorbell has a camera, speaker and motion sensor in the doorbell. When the doorbell is rung or the motion sensor activated a message gets sent to your phone. From your phone you get a live stream of who is at your door and even talk to them if you wish. Pretty useful for the times you aren't expecting company.

3. Little Giant Ladder

These ladders are fantastic. They can help you get into some really tight places. Because they can configure into so many different sizes you really only need the one ladder so you don't have to worry about storing a variety of size ladders anymore. We use this ladder all day everyday for work and it just keeps on ticking. We give this ladder huge applause and they are must haves for any homeowner.

4. Patio Heaters/ Fire pits

Patio heaters and fire pits make fantastic gifts in the Christmas season as the weather starts too cool down. Fire pits are great fun to hang out around in the back yard during football season. Patio heaters put off a surprising amount of heat making the short winter spell that we have in Alabama all that much more tolerable while outside.

5. Cordless Drill

Last but not least is the cordless drill. The advances in cordless drill technology have been great. The batteries have gotten better and better allowing for some pretty significant usage before recharge is needed. This is a must have for any new home owner, especially first time ones.